Sailor Starrunner
by Aleric
Summary: This story is based on the manga version of Sailor Uranus. I do not own these charcters. I only borrowed them.


********************************************* The moon shone hazily through the clouds. Providing plenty of light to see, and plenty of shadows in which to hide. In one of these shadows, a lone figure quickly scanned the area for her intended target. Yep, there he was, peeking not-so-subtly from the roof of the Crown Parlor, down at the street below. 

_'Baka!'_ she thought angrily,_ 'Why doesn't he just wear a sign that says HI, I'M A STALKER.'_ Shaking her head in disgust, she slipped around to the back-alley to climb the fireescape and confront him.

Seiya waited patiently on the rooftop, the cool night air chilling the sweat on his brow. He had to see her, if only for a minute. To hell with that the others said. He wasn't endangering the mission. He searched for the Hime just as they did. He just didn't obsess on it like they did. So what? Everybody liked his Easy-going attitude a lot better. He knew Usagi liked it. The way her eyes would sparkle gave his heart a jolt like he had never felt before. A noise from below sparked his attention. Carefully he peered over the edge. Damn, not her. His shoulders slumped in disappointment as he sat back down on the pebbled surface.

"You never learn, do you?" Seiya jumped and spun around at the sound. There standing ten feet away was SailorUranus, a cold scowl on her face.

"Fuck off." he snarled, turning back to look down at the street. He didn't need this. Epecially from her.

"Like hell I will." She grabbed his collar and yanked him to his feet. "You were warned to stay away from Usagi-Hime."

Seiya glared at the woman, as he pulled away from her grip. "I'm not going near her. I just- just want to see her, that's all."he said.

"Don't play games with me." Uranus snapped. Her arms were folded across her chest, and she looked like a parent scolding a belligerent child. "There are serious repurcussions for your actions."

He raised an eyebrow at her, a hard smirk crossing his face. "You would know all about those repurcussions, wouldn't you _'Starrunner_?" At those words, Haruka once again felt the pain of a long buried memory.

(FLASHBACK)

Standing before the Council seat, her fellow Senshi standing protectively around their Princess. Everyone was looking at her with mixed emotions; Confusion, Hurt, Anger, Betrayal. And from her Princess, all of them at once.

(End FLASHBACK)

Uranus' teeth gnashed together in a barely contained rage. She grabbed him menacingly. "You bastard." she hissed. "You have no right to speak to me about that."

For a moment Seiya felt guilty, but he shook it off and pulled loose from the tall blonde's grip. "Why not?" he threw the challenge back in her face. "What makes your situation different than mine?"

She snorted disdainfully at his sense of logic. "For one thing," she said. "I didn't sneak around like some crazed stalker."

Seiya sneered at her. "Of course not." he said. "You openly flaunted your affair with SailorNeptune."

(FLASHBACK)

___"SAILORNEPTUNE, STEP FORWARD AND TESTIFY."_

SailorNeptune gave her a sideways glance, biting her lip in consternation. She gave her a small nod, smiling in reassurance. Neptune returned the smile, and turned to face the Council chair.

_"DO YOU KNOW THE ACCUSED?"_

She nodded. "Yes your honor."

_"HAVE YOU KNOWN HER INTIMATELY?"_

Neptune frowned at this. "I don't believe that is an apppriate question to ask." she said angrily.

_"WE WILL DECIDE WHAT IS APPROPRIATE IN THIS VENUE."_

She bowed her head shame-faced. "Yes your honor."

_"WE WILL REPEAT THE QUESTION; HAVE YOU KNOWN THE ACCUSED INTIMATELY?"_

Neptune turned to look at her. A lone tear trickled down her cheek. "Yes your honor." she acknowledged unhappily.

(END FLASHBACK)

"Don't hand me that crap!" she snapped, gripping him by the shoulder, and forcing him to look at her. "You know what you are trying to do is wrong. The Great Council forbids such actions."

"And whose fault is that?" Seiya asked.

Haruka frowned. "It's nobody's fault." she said. "Nobody was expecting an assasination attempt during the Grand Ball."

Seiya shook his head. "No, you're right. They weren't. But that's not why the Council ruled, is it?"

(FLASHBACK)

___"SAILORNEPTUNE, WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE DARK KINGDOM TRIED TO ATTACK?"_

"Protecting my Queen and Princess." she stated firmly.

_"WHERE WAS THE ACCUSED?"_

"She was with me. Where I might add," she stated, "she thwarted an attempt on Princess Serenity's life."

_"THIS ACTION HAS BEEN NOTED IN THE COURT RECORD. HOWEVER, THIS WAS NOT THE REASON SHE WAS THERE, WAS IT?" _

Neptune's face fell slightly. "I-I don't un-uderstand." she stammered.

_"WAS PROTECTING PRINCESS SERENITY THE REASON WHY THE ACCUSED WAS WITH YOU?"_

"That's what she did, isn't it?" Neptune replied stubbornly.

_"YOU ARE EVADING THE QUESTION. VERY WELL, WE WILL REPHRASE; DID THE ACCUSED TELL YOU SHE WAS THERE TO PROTECT PRINCESS SERENITY?"_

Neptune hung her head. "No, your honor."

_"WHY WAS SHE THERE?"_

Her next words were spoken in low tones. But still loud enough for the Court to hear. "She was afraid I would be hurt."

_"SO SHE WAS NOT THERE TO PROTECT THE PRINCESS. SHE WAS THERE TO PROTECT YOU, CORRECT?"_

"Yes, Your Honor."

(End Flashback)

"It was just dumb luck that you ended up saving Princess Serenity." he said. "That's the only reason they didn't execute you."

"There was more to it than that." Haruka muttered angrily.

"Yeah yeah," he muttered. "But in the end, you still ended up with SailorNeptune."

Uranus growled in frustration. "That's only because Queen Serenity spoke up in my behalf." she said.

(FLASHBACK)

"Your Honor, if it please the Court, may I speak?"

_"QUEEN SERENITY, YOU ALWAYS HAVE PERMISSION TO SPEAK."_

The Queen rose to her feet. "Thank you. I believe it would be wrong for the accused to face this punishment."

_"WE UNDERSTAND YOUR GRATITUDE TO THE ACCUSED FOR HER ACTIONS IN SAVING YOUR DAUGHTER. NONETHELES-"_

"Please, allow me to finish. This is a brave, honorable Senshi, who has never before commited any wrong-doing. I do not excuse her failure to protect her proper princess, but is it right to punish her this way for letting her heart speak before her head?"

There was a long pause. Finally the Council Chair spoke._ "WE DO SEE SOME VALIDITY IN WHAT YOU ARE SAYING. HOWEVER, WE MUST ALSO CONSIDER PRINCESS KAKYUU. SHE IS, AFTER ALL, THE ONE BETRAYED BY THE ACCUSED'S ACTIONS."_

Queen Serenity thought for a moment, and turned to the Kinmokian Princess. "Then perhaps the Princess will be willing to discuss a possible compromise in private?" she suggested.

Kakyuu looked startled, then collected herself and approached the Queen. "What sort of compromise?" she asked.

(END FLASHBACK)

"They gave me the only option that was open to me."

"Yeah right, all you had to do was publically swear to serve Queen Serenity and The Silver Moon Kingdom and they spared your life." Seiya snapped.

That did it. Haruka had to fight off the urge to throw the bastard off the roof. "That was not all, and you_ know it_!"

(FLASHBACK)

She knelt down on one knee, looking up at Queen Serenity's outstretched hand. "Do you now swear your loyalty to me, my daughter, and my kingdom?" the Queen asked.

She paused uncertainly, looking around. Princess Kakyuu stood to the left of Queen Serenity. Their eyes met and the Princess gave the slightest nod of assent. Seeing this, she grasped the offered hand and replied. "I do, Your Majesty." Serenity nodded, and turned back to the Court. "You may proceed." she said.

_[What?]_

_"SAILOR STARRUNNER, YOU HAVE BEEN ACCUSED AND FOUND GUILTY OF ABANDONING YOUR PRINCESS IN A TIME OF CRISIS. THE USUAL PUNISHMENT FOR THIS IS DEATH."_ She visibly paled as the sergeant-at-arms approached drawing his sword.

_"BECAUSE YOU HAVE SAVED THE LIFE OF QUEEN SERENITY'S DAUGHTTER, AND HAVE NOW SWORN LOYALTY TO HER, YOUR LIFE WILL BE SPARED. HOWEVER, PUNISHMENT MUST BE METED OUT."_

With those words, she felt a sharp tug at the back of her neck. Moments later, she saw her long blonde ponytail drfting to the floor. _"NO LONGER ARE YOU SAILOR STARRUNNER. YOU ARE SAILORURANUS OF THE MOON KINGDOM._" She felt her heart leap at these words, but then felt it drop as the judge continued. _"YOU ARE ALSO FORBIDDEN TO EVER SET FOOT ON KINMOKOU AGAIN. THE MOMENT YOU DO, YOU WILL BE EXECUTED ON SITE."_

(END FLASHBACK)

"But still, you ended up with the one you loved." Seiya argued. "Why can't I ask for the same thing?" 

She rubbed her temple, trying to ward off the coming headache. "We're not talking about simply switching your allegiance to a new Royal House this time." she said. "You're trying to involve the Crown Princess. A girl betrothed to another man. Do you realize what will happen if you continue this action?"

Seiya stood silent for a moment before gazing down at the street. Usagi was walking along, talking with Rei and Mina. a triple scoop ice cream cone in her hand. The three of them were giggling at Mina's play-by-play account of her last date. Usagi laughed so hard, the scoop fell off her ice cream onto Rei's blouse. The raven tressed priestess started berating her but she dismissed it airily, saying 'the blouse will get clean, but I'm out one ice cream cone.' Rei gave a strangled cry of outrage and took off after Usagi, who was racing up the street laughing. The sound was sweeter to Seiya's ears than the brightest nightingale.

Turning to Uranus, he gave her a determined look. "I'm willing to take that chance." he said. "I'm going to keep seeing her, and I don't care what anybody says about it." And with that he turned and walked off.

"You may not care Seiya," Uranus whispered as she sadly watched Seiya leave. "But I do. And so do a lot of other people." She sighed and leapt off the roof down to a back-alley where her bike was parked.

_'There can be no exception made in this situation Seiya."_ she thought her eyes tearing from both the wind in her face as she sped home, and the pain in her heart. _'If you continue with this, they 'will' execute you.'_

  



End file.
